Attraction
by tectrices
Summary: //Rayne// River's convinced she's contracted some horrible ailment; Jayne's convinced he's got the cure. A sensual piece exploring acting on attraction.


_Disclaimer: I do not own Firefly/Serenity._

**-A/N:** A sort of sensual little piece - giving River a more naïve feel than a lot of people do. I'm happy with how this turned out.

Attraction

* * *

River watched Jayne from the catwalk, trying to deduce the cause of a rather perturbing new physical development. She seemed to be ill and for whatever reason his presence seemed to exacberate the disease.

"Moonbrain," he called, putting his weight bar back in its cradle, "what're you doin'?"

"Watching you."

He narrowed his eyes and she would have been able to tell even without the mental jab of annoyance that her answer had irritated him. "I know that; but why're you watchin' me?"

"Research."

"Research?"

"Yes." She stood up and walked gracefully down into the hold. "There is something wrong with me."

Jayne snorted mirthfully. "I coulda told you _that_, crazy."

She fought the sudden urge she had to stamp her foot. He was very frustrating sometimes. "I do not mean the normal incongruencies. Something is out of sync only recently."

"Oh?" He didn't seem to care one way or the other. "Well go see your brother."

"I do not think it is serious yet. It comes and goes." She looked at him curiously. "Perhaps you have contracted it, as well. You intensify the symptoms."

"Do I, huh?" He rolled his eyes. "Well maybe you should stay away from me, then. Don't want you goin' all gorram killer-woman on me with no warnin'." She ignored him; his words were only for show, at any rate - he had accepted her presence and, she suspected, was beginning to think of her as a member of his crew.

"Staying away does not seem to make much difference. Sometimes thoughts of you can trigger it."

That made him pause. "Thoughts o' me?" River nodded. He thought for a moment before saying slowly, "Jus' what kind o' sickness is this?"

"I do not know; that is why I - "

"No, no, I mean... What kinda symptoms you got?" He looked at her intently and she felt the strange sensations begin somewhere in the vicinity of her ribcage.

"I..." She shook her head, trying to rattle the thoughts into greatest possible coherency. "There is a... tingle."

"A tingle?" He looked amused, wearing a smirk that made her feel very warm. Her heart started quick palpitations - thumping worryingly inside her. His eyes were blue; they were very blue. She wondered if they looked anything like sapphires.

"Yes." She could taste the bittersweet tang of realization on his thoughts. She gaped at him and said, "You know! You think you have discovered the cause of my problems."

"Yeah. I think I have. Weren't too difficult either." He was still looking at her, but something in his gaze had changed; River suspected something was going on she was unaware of.

She swallowed thickly, suddenly feeling as though she was surrounded by an entire ocean, the water hindering movement. "What is going on?"

Jayne held her gaze, his eyes deep and warm and dangerous. "Y'feel that tingle now?" She nodded. "That real uncomfortable-good sort of feelin' right in your middle? Where your skin feels too tight and your head feels all liquid and maybe your toes wanna curl up and you're kind o' scared 'cause it's like I'm takin' up the whole ship?"

She nodded again, slowly this time, and said, "Yes, my symptoms are comparable to what you describe. But how did you know?" She looked up at him worriedly. "Is it fatal? Have I contracted some horrible, deep-space disease?"

He was still looking at her. "Naw, crazy-girl, ain't nothin' like that." He'd called her "crazy" almost affectionately. Like her father had called her "sweetheart". No... Like Zoe had called Wash "baby".

"Then what is it?"

He took a step closer and she felt the room get smaller. "Well... I think y'might need a bit more o' that diagnosin'."

"Should Simon - "

"No. Ain't no need for your brother. I think I got this handled. Bet your breath's near gone. An' your little heart's startin' t'flutter."

"Yes. Yes, all of that. If you know what is wrong with me, tell me now man-called-Jayne."

"Ain't nothin' _wrong_. Gimme your hand." When she only gave him a confused stare he motioned towards her with one large, awkward hand of his own and said, "Look, jus' stick your arm out and lemme see your hand. I won't hurt it or nothin'."

He seemed sincere, so hesitantly she obeyed. He grabbed her wrist gently and held the back of her hand against his palm. With agonizing softness he began moving the pad of his thumb in slow circles against the inside of her wrist.

That only made things worse. Her body felt charged, electric chills pulsing through her with increasing intensity. Her brain ran through all the illnesses she'd ever heard of, but she couldn't remember anything with her particular symptoms and she certainly couldn't recall ever hearing of a remedy like the one Jayne was employing. If she had to define the feeling, she'd say... well, _good_, but not like any sort of good she'd ever felt before. The only thing that compared was anticipation - knowing something very good was coming if only she would wait for it to arrive.

Her eyes flickered between their hands and his face. His eyes never wavered.

"This is not helping," she said breathlessly.

"Oh, it's not?" She shook her head. "'S it makin' the feelin' worse?" She nodded. "Makin' you feel all gooey inside?" She nodded again. "Well d'you want me to stop?"

River didn't answer.

Jayne smirked and she felt something inside her jump. "Don't think you got anything to worry about," he told her, his thumb finally coming to a stop. "Happens to everyone, actually." He dropped her hand and grinned. She just looked at him, confused. "What, don't tell me you really ain't never been attracted to somebody b'fore."

"Wha... I am not attracted to you!" she contradicted shrilly.

"Yeah y'are," he told her smugly. "All them things _wrong_ with you was just your body's way o' lettin' you know it sees somethin' that it wants."

"Preposterous," she told him intently, her heartbeat quickening from embarrassment. "I am not attracted to you - you flatter yourself, man-with-a-girl's-name."

Her jibe went unnoticed. He crossed his arms over his broad chest and he raised one brow in challenge. "Oh really? You willin' to prove that?"

No, she most certainly was not - but she couldn't back down. "I do not have to. It is your duty, as the affirmative side. You have the burden of proof."

"Oh. So..." He stepped closer. "Y'want me to prove that you are attracted t'me."

"That does not sound like a good idea."

"I'm sure it ain't." He moved even closer.

She still felt oddly - light-headed and dry-mouthed. And his proximity was affecting her far more than it ever should. "What are you doing?" she asked, a little fearfully. If he took one more big step, their bodies would be touching.

"I'm provin'." He put his big hands on her tiny waist, pulling her gently towards him. She didn't try to deter him at all; any efforts would have only proven futile in any case and she realized, with a little shudder, that she was very, _very_ attracted to him - and that his hands on her waist and his body's warmth so near her made her body pulse with something hot and full of longing.

She swallowed and forced herself to look up at his eyes.

"You're so little," he murmured, staring at his hands as his thumbs traced the flowers on her dress. "Like some... bird 'bout to fly away. You ain't hardly bigger than a little kid."

"No," she said, cupping her hands around his forearms. It seemed vital to remind him that she wasn't a child. "Not a bird - I have no wings. And not a little kid, not a child." She let her nails rake through the hair on his arms. "I am not a child."

"No," he said warmly, "I guess you're not." River stepped boldly closer. Jayne let one arm wrap around her, his hand splayed out across the small of her back. It felt new and a little surreal, but so, so good. The pressure of it made her body tingle, sensitizing every inch of skin. She regretted for a moment that anyone had ever thought clothes were a good idea, because she wanted nothing more than to feel Jayne's skin against her own. His other hand combed back the hair from her face, and when his fingertips brushed her cheek she thought she might melt.

It seemed important he be informed. "Melting," she murmured fretfully. "The Jayne-skin... Heat increasing..."

He chuckled darkly. "Don't worry none about that." He pulled her the tiniest bit closer, and she shivered, feeling the full length of his body pressed gently against her own. He bent his head down to hers. "I feel it, too."

It came like a flash, but she realized belatedly that his actions could only mean that Jayne was attracted to her, too. That was a very intoxicating thought. One little hand touched the buckle of his belt while she leaned her head back and up to meet his gaze. It was a look of challenge and invitation and she saw something flicker violently in the deep and the dark of his eyes.

They stood there for what seemed like ages - River counted only forty-five full seconds. Then Jayne flexed his fingers against her back. "I sorta wanna kiss you," he mumbled, relinquishing the total control he'd had of the situation; River appreciated that.

"You do not kiss them on the mouth."

He frowned. "I know." His body shifted a little from side to side, his consternation apparent. "But - "

"You do not kiss _them_. I am not a whore, nor do I have access to any chemical method of rendering you unconscious." She looked down shyly for a moment, then let her eyes slowly raise back to his. "And you have qualified mouth as off-limits." She felt her face flush. "I have more parts available than just my mouth."

That excited him - she could feel the waves of _thrill_ show through his lust. "Guess you really are a genius. 'Cause you're right." There was something very telling in his gaze and she realized that soon their odd moment of romance would progress to far more than words. That excited her as much as it terrified her. "You got cheeks." His lips touched her face so slightly she almost wasn't sure she'd felt them at all. "An' a forehead." He kissed right below her hairline. "An' a nose." He kissed its tip. Then he pulled away and just stared. Trying to tell her something - but she couldn't decipher what it was he meant her to know. Then he said, "An' you got a real pretty neck, too." And she wasn't expecting it at all when she felt his lips - and his tongue and his teeth - there, lighting fires on soft, innocent flesh. She gasped and she felt him think it was a beautiful sound.

He growled against her neck, mashing their bodies together with one swift tug. River knew she was far out of her depth. She was not entirely sure how far to let things proceed - the sensations produced were exquisite, but that did not mean that she should throw all restraint out the window. His hands were starting to roam.

And when he landed purposefully on a breast, she whimpered lowly from the heavy feeling. He paused in his campaign to look up at her. His hand did not move. "What? That feel bad?"

She shook her head. "No..." It was slightly... embarrassing, she felt; he was taking liberties she was not sure he should have been allowed to. But all the feeling in her body, like some sort of wild stream, had flowed into the area his hand covered. It was strange - her head felt fuzzy and her body buzzed with anticipation and pleasure.

He squeezed gently, running his thumb along the skin at the neckline of her dress. Kaylee had told her giggly stories of boys with fumbling hands and no clue what they were doing. Jayne's hands were sure if he ever fumbled it would only be out of haste; he knew _exactly_ what he was doing. The thin cotton fabric caught on her nipple as his palm moved, and she felt stars bursting to life behind her eyes.

"Bet you're willin' to admit you're 'tracted to me now."

She made a strangled, impatient sort of noise. "Yes, yes - point proven, you win the prize." She blinked. "Is that the only - "

"No." His hands fell back to her waist and he moved his mouth to her temple, his face rough and scratchy against hers. His breath was warm as he spoke above her ear. "No, I mighta wanted to prove that I was windin' you up, but..." He closed his eyes and she felt something strong and hot wash over her. His thoughts were not discernible words; but the feelings... They were strong and pure, like saturated primary colors. "You gotta understand, River-girl... I ain't a good man. I saw th'opportunity, and I didn't mind takin' it."

"You think you are taking advantage." She put a hand to his chest, fingers rubbing gently.

"Can't say I am, seein' as how y'seem to be givin' me plenty o' encouragement."

"I find you worth encouraging." Urges - that she recognized clinically but not from prior experience - were making themselves fervently known, and though she knew precisely what her body was craving, her mental fortitude did not seem to be as great as her physical desire. She was enraptured by feelings, so real and human, but he made her very, very nervous.

"That's good." He let out a long, slow exhale. "That's real, real good."

Masculine energy surrounded her; soon she would be drowning. It would be worth it if she finally got a glimpse of that far-off, other plane _Serenity_'s other couples had always teased her with. "Jayne?"

"What?"

"If we were to follow the usual progression, this situation would lead to sexual congress, wouldn't it?"

The lust she felt from him was so strong it _hurt_. "Oh hell yeah, baby girl - that's 'zactly where the situation's goin'." He was pulling up her dress, his movements feverish and frenzied where they had been sensuous and slow. "Gonna make you feel so good; make all them tingles you get feel like earthquakes." She trembled. "I wanna rip that little dress off o' you. Tear it. Pull it off so I c'n see your little body all bare... and warm... With them long legs wrapped around me and then, aww _fuck_ River-girl I wanna be inside you. An' - "

She had to stop him. "Jayne... Jayne!" She drew in a breath, pushing his hands away. He stilled, looking at her, utter confusion written all over his face. She felt a slight pang of pity for the big child with his toy taken away. "Your words..." Her face was red, she knew, and she felt embarrassed that she could be affected so. "They are arousing, filled with promises of something that I want. Something I want _very_ much."

He groaned. "But?"

"But I am unable to quantify with my head so full of feeling. I will follow through to conclusion..." She fidgeted slightly. "When you kiss me on the mouth."

His head was as foggy as hers. "I think I could break a rule. Just this once."

"You do this not as a favor to me, but because you are over eager to be in possession of a naked woman."

He squinted at her, his hands unconsciously grabbing hold of her middle. It was a very pleasant sensation. "Yeah, okay, but... Maybe it _could_ be like a favor t'you. I wouldn't do it for jus' anyone. Not for a whore, no matter how good-lookin' she was."

His argument was not good, but she was quickly finding herself unable to care. "That is true. And if you had naked woman, I would also have naked man."

He smirked and pulled her closer, holding her as possessively as he held one of his guns. "Yeah, an' lemme tell you..." He leered, raising his brows suggestively. "Naked me is all sorts o' shiny."

"Jayne..." She let one hand trace his jawline, letting her fingertips rest for milliseconds on full, lovely lips. Then she smiled, a seal to their agreement that spoke of pleasure and dark, erotic promise. She raised onto her toes and whispered, her mouth nearly touching his. "I will be in your bunk."

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-Thanks for reading! Feedback is, as always, greatly appreciated!


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